The American auto industry began in the late 1880s, evolving from horse-drawn carriages, to steam-powered cars, then gasoline-powered cars to hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell technology of today. Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company were the first to mass-produce automobiles. American automakers dominated as the largest volume producers in the world until the 1980s, when the Japanese became the largest producers. The Chinese with 14.8% became the world's first volume producer OICA (2014). The United States, at 6.9%, fell from its position as the world's second-largest auto producer by volume. The focus of this article will be on the environmental challenges facing the American automotive industry. In this title the word environment talks about the general elements (e.g. political, technological, economic, social, legal and environmental) that influence the industry. These general elements are mostly outside the direct control of the automaker, but they present challenges. The greatest environmental challenge facing American industry is global completion. The last 10 years have seen an increase in the number of Japanese vehicles purchased by American consumers because they were more economical, with better fuel economy and better performance. Japanese automaker Toyota is “dedicating more time to digital, social and mobile to focus on what matters to the consumer” Retchin (2014). Toyota's goal is to regain and increase its market share. China, with its 14.8% market share, dominates global automobile sales, however this dominance represents a disadvantage as well as an advantage for the American industry. General Motors now sells more cars in China than anywhere else, and Chevrolet, Ford and GM are in... middle of paper.../01/26/vice-president-biden-announces-planning-put -a million -of-advanced-technology-6. CEPGI (2014) Retrieved from http://cepgi.typepad.com/heslin_rothenberg_farley_/page/2/7. GM News (2013) Retrieved from http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2013/Oct/1022-fc-equinox .html8. The United States Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (1990-2012) EPA. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources/transportation.html9. Naylor (2014) NHTSA Retrieved from http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/2014/ USDOT+to+Move+Forward+with+Vehicle-to-Vehicle+Communication+Technology+for+Light +Vehicles10. Clayton, M (2014) The Christian Science Monitor Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2014/0303/EPA-s-new-auto-emissions-regs-a-big-deal-industry-says